Why Ralph McTell has updated his hit Streets of London for coronavirus era 🎶
Media playback is unsupported on your deviceIt began with a conversation between a foreign correspondent who loves ballads, and his neighbour, a legend of the British folk music scene.
First recorded in 1969, the song at one point sold 90,000 copies a day and has been covered by more than 200 artists. It also won Ralph an Ivor Novello award for best song and continues to feature in folk music's"best of" playlists.Ralph is a neighbour and also one of the kindest men I know. Since I was a teenager I have loved his bittersweet songs of the heart and acute social observation.
"This is of biblical proportions, this catastrophe," he told me."And each day that goes by there is the realisation that this is no dress rehearsal, this is actually going on right now and there is nothing we can do about it, except try and follow the basic rules."Born into a working class family in Croydon, south London, at the end of World War Two, Ralph left home and joined the army aged 15. His social conscience was forged in a post-war world circumscribed by poverty.
I spoke of a young woman called Blue, aged 29, who I'd met living under a railway bridge and how fearful she was that she would be arrested and put into isolation.Changing the song was something he'd always resisted, he said. It was written when he was 22 and belonged to a particular time. But this was an extraordinary moment in history."Give me a chance to think and try and write something.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Coronavirus news: Fury at rise in DELIBERATE fires amid outbreak - ‘Unbelievable’FIREFIGHTERS have hit out at a rise in people deliberately starting blazes amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Read more »
Facebook video calls soar 1,000% in Italy lockdownThe social media platform has seen usage rocket in countries hardest hit by coronavirus lockdowns.
Read more »
Why US voters back Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisisAmerica is giving a thumbs up to Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Read more »
Coronavirus updates: Global coronavirus deaths pass 20,000 - BBC NewsLee says he has been trying to apply for universal credit but there are 90k people in the queue Government departments under 'huge pressure', but advice is to apply online, and families can get support 'pretty quickly', Chris Mason says BBCYourQuestions
Read more »
Linda Lusardi's husband gives update on her health amid coronavirus battleLinda Lusardi's husband Sam Kane has revealed his wife is experiencing issues with her oxygen intake as well as her blood pressure, but is certain she 'will win' her battle with coronavirus.
Read more »